The tonne bag of gravel arrived just after 8 a.m. The delivery driver very kindly parked it right next to the back gate which meant I wouldn’t have to barrow it half way up the driveway which was what I’d anticipated. He saved me a lot of huff ‘n’ puff ‘n’ back ache, that’s for sure. We shared a bit of gardening banter, mostly about potatoes, and then he was off on the rest of his deliveries and I was faced with some hefty manual labour.
Armed with wheelbarrow, spade and rake, and my Health and Safety training about bending from the knee to prevent back injuries, I set about re-gravelling the courtyard. It was a bit faffy because the courtyard space is dotted with paving slabs which required some delicate arrangement of gravel around them, and this is when I learned that gravel often has a mind of its own and sometimes needs a jolly good stamping on to make it know its place. Periodically, I gave myself a break from shovelling and raking to get two loads of laundry done and out on the washing line. Nell’s initial supervisory capacity soon fell to the wayside when she realised that the gate was open and she could go off for an explore of the field, specifically Vladimir Poo Tin.
Courtyard completed just after 11.30, and I still had half the bag left. I know, I thought - I’ll re-gravel the seating area in the Middle Garden. It already had a thin layer of gravel but not enough to prevent the weeds poking through. The only problem with this excellent idea was that the gravel needed to be transported from the driveway, through the courtyard, up five steps and then up a slightly upwards inclined lawn.
And this is when I discovered that gravel is REALLY heavy. Unfairly so, I think. I enlisted the help of my trusty bucket which complained enormously when I filled it with five spadefuls of gravel, as did my back when I tried to carry it up the five steps to where the wheelbarrow was now waiting. I tried four spadefuls. Still too heavy. Turns out that three spadefuls in a bucket is the optimum weight for my power-lifting and step climbing capabilities. And that four buckets is the optimum to put in the wheelbarrow in order to push it up a small grassy incline without it and me keeling over in a sweaty gravelly mess.
By just after 1 p.m I was done. And done in. You don’t need a gym membership when you’ve got a large garden to manage. There is still a little bit of gravel left over and I think I’ll spread it underneath Wild Edric in the front garden border, but that means I have to do weeding first, which will be a weekend job.
After lunch I zipped around doing some housework because when I am Head Gardener, the Head Housekeeper vanishes for some bizarre reason so the cottage was beginning to look a tad raddled. Then back into the garden to clear up the tree and hedge clippings from yesterday’s gardening project. Watered the greenhouse incumbents. Ten tomato plants!!
By 4 o’clock, I’d had enough. So I lay on the grass and stared at the sky.
This was the view straight upwards:
This was the view to my left:
And this, to my right:
And this, of course, to the front:
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KJ
KJ